Opera Gala: Plácido Domingo
Artists
Serena Sáenz – soprano
Ester Pavlů – mezzo-soprano
Plácido Domingo – baritone
Prague Philharmonia
Tomáš Brauner – conductor
Program
Giuseppe Verdi: La forza del destino – Overture
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano: Andrea Chénier – „Nemico della patria“
Giacomo Puccini: La Bohéme – „Quando m´en vo“
Giuseppe Verdi: Don Carlo – „O don fatale o don crudel“
Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth – „Perfidi…Pieta rispetto,amore“
Giacomo Puccini: Gianni Schicchi – „O mio babbino caro“
Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut – Intermezzo
Léo Delibes: Lakmé – „Dome epais“
Manuel Penella: El Gato Montés – „Me llamabas Rafaeliyo“
Georges Bizet: Carmen – Overture
Jacinto Guerrero: Los Gavilanes – „Mi Aldea“
Georges Bizet: Carmen – „L´amour est un oiseau rebelle“ Habanera
Pablo Sorozábal Mariezcurrena: La del Manojo de Rosas – „Hace tiempo que vengo al taller“
Reveriano Soutullo/Juan Vert: La leyenda del beso – Intermedio
Franz Lehár: Die lustige Witwe – „Lippen schweigen“
Gerónimo Giménez: El barbero de Sevilla – „Me llaman la primorosa“
Pablo Sorozábal Mariezcurrena: La Tabernera del Puerto – „No puede ser!“
Serena Sáenz
Spanish soprano and 1st prize winner of the Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition was honored with multiple prizes at both the Paris Opera Competition and the Viñas Competition, including the Audience Prize in Paris and Montserrat.
She has performed in numerous operatic roles including Lucia di Lammermoor in Gran Teatre del Liceu, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Nannetta in Falstaff and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Norina in Don Pasquale or Zerlina in Don Giovanni and in leading opera houses including Staatsoper Berlin, Gran Teatre del Liceu and Teatro Real or Fundació Opera de Catalunya.
Ester Pavlů
One of the most promising singers and mezzo-sopranos of the younger generation, she studied at the Academy of Performing Arts under Helena Kaupová and has performed on leading domestic and international stages. She has appeared at the National Theatre Opera, the State Opera and the National Theatre in Prague in the title role of Bizet’s Carmen, Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, the Queen in Švanda the piper, and the Foreign Princess in Dvořák’s Rusalka.
She has performed mainly abroad: she has toured the UK and the USA, made her debut in Basel as Santuzza, in Riga as Eboli in Don Carlos, in the National Theatre in Sofia in the title role of Rossini’s Cinderella and this season she also made her debut in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien as the Ice Queen in Die Fledermaus. She has worked with leading ensembles and conductors such as J. Bělohlávek, P. Inkinen, D.G. Carreras, P. Popelka, F. Chaslin, J. Cura, A. Jurkevyč, J. Valčuha and many others.
Plácido Domingo
World-renowned eclectic artist. Recognized as one of the best opera singers, Domingo is also a conductor and has been Honorary Artistic Director of the Centennial Festival of the Arena di Verona, General Manager of Los Angeles and Washington Opera.
His repertoire includes 151 roles, an achievement unmatched by any other singer and over 4,050 performances. His debut in Italy dates back to 1969 with Turandot at the Arena di Verona and a few months later he opened the season at Teatro alla Scala with Ernani. To his credit has more than a hundred recordings with 12 Grammy Awards and over 50 videos. He was the protagonist of three famous film-opera: Carmen di Rosi, La traviata and Otello by Zeffirelli. Cavaradossi’s historical interpretation was followed by over a billion people on live TV, from Rome in the places and times of Tosca. For over ten years, since 1990, he has performed in the concerts of The Three Tenors with Carreras and Pavarotti, attracting new audiences to the opera. Since 1993 he presides over the prestigious international singing competition Operalia of which is also the founder.
He has received honorary degrees and awards for his contribution to music and the arts. He has performed world premieres of several operas including Goya by Menotti and Il Postino by Catán. In parallel to singing, he performs as conductor; to his credit more than 500 opera performances and symphonic concerts with some of the most prestigious orchestras and his recent debut at the Bayreuth Festival conducting Die Walkure.
In recent years he has dedicated himself to interpreting the great roles of the baritone repertoire, especially Verdi’s: Simon Boccanegra, I due Foscari, La traviata, Nabucco, Il trovatore, Giovanna D’Arco, Macbeth, Ernani, Don Carlo, Luisa Miller, Thaïs and Gianni Schicchi, performing on the main stages of the world. In 2017 again a foray into the tenor repertoire such as Bajazet in Tamerlano on the stage of the Teatro alla Scala. During this summer, after receiving the Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award in Salzburg, he returned to perform starting from Italy with an impressive concert at the Reggia di Caserta and then at the Arena di Verona with two highly acclaimed Gala evenings, singing and conducting. Following the success at the Staatsoper in Vienna where he played Simon Boccanegra, he sang Nabucco at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, after receiving the CC Forum Award in Monte Carlo for his humanitarian commitment, and conducted Manon Lescaut and sang in a Gala Eveing at Bolshoi Opera House. In December 2020 he sang I due Foscari in Montecarlo, the opening night of Teatro alla Scala for Season 2020/2021 and Nabucco at Mariinsky Opera House with Valery Gergiev.
Prague Philharmonia
Prague Philharmonia was founded in 1994 on the initiative of the world-famous conductor Jiří Bělohlávek under the original name of the Prague Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. In the 30 years of its existence, the orchestra has earned recognition throughout the music world thanks to its international tours, but also thanks to its internationally acclaimed albums and recordings. Prague Philharmonia is praised for its unique sound, but also for its repertoire, which is mainly focused on the works of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Jakub Hrůša, Julian Rachlin, Martha Argerich, Jefim Bronfman, András Schiff, Gil Shaham, Isabelle Faust, Emmanuel Pahud, Luciano Pavarotti, Diana Damrau, Plácido Domingo, Gautier Capuçon, Maxim Vengerov, Mischa Maisky, Juan Diego Flórez, Jonas Kaufmann and many others have performed with the orchestra.
Tomáš Brauner
Chief Conductor of the Capital City Symphony Orchestra graduated in oboe and conducting at the State Conservatory and in conducting at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. He regularly collaborates with the Czech Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonia, Müncher Symphoniker, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie and many others.
He is also an opera conductor and at the State Opera, the National Theatre and the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre he has conducted Puccini’s La Bohème and Tosca, Verdi’s Otello, Nabucco and Traviata, Bizet’s Carmen and many others.
He is a frequent guest of international music festivals such as Bad Kissingen and the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch Parten-Kirchen, and in 2022 he made his debut in the Elbe Philharmonic in Hamburg.
Private: Municipal Park
The 2.5 hectare park is located in the centre of Český Krumlov, on the left bank of the Vltava River. Since the end of the 16th century, the area of the present park has been a place of relaxation and a garden. It was used by the Jesuits, whose dormitory stood on the opposite bank. Extensive changes […]
